This week I missed my mother. My “babies,” our twenty-nine-year-old twin daughters, Susy and Libby, were home with their first babies, one four months and one fourteen months. Watching my…
Adult Children
Becoming Small
My good friend, Jane Ann Smith, who also has six children and is about 10 years ahead of me in life’s journey, has given me lots of good advice over…
Babysitting Five Boys
{Editor’s Note: Mom’s you are doing an awesome job of being mom … sometimes others forget ALL that you do! Just know there are pom pom’s waving here at MomLife…
Tongue Control
Lately I’ve been thinking about my tongue and how hard it is to control! This is nothing new for me. When I was young and my words often got me…
In Pencil Rather than Ink
One of the things I’m learning in this phase of my Empty Nest is to put my plans in pencil rather than in ink. You see, basically I’m a detail…
On Waiting
I do not like to wait. I don’t like to wait for things to happen, for relationships to be fixed, for problems to be solved, for enlightenment to come, for…
Observing Christmas and Loss
This year our family shrunk at Christmas. From the overall total of 27 people in our clan, to last year’s Christmas gathering of 10, to this year’s grand total of…
Incomplete
Our daughter Libby had her first baby early last fall. After being married seven years she was very much looking forward to this incredible gift. Yet at the same time…
Finding Mom in Christmas
I was throwing myself a holiday pity party. No decorations needed. No one else was invited—I don’t believe in “misery loves company.” Just chocolate and a box of tissues. This…
No More Christmases at Home
When we got married I looked forward to starting new traditions and continuing many from my childhood. Certain cookies, a particular style of stockings, and always a freshly cut tree were…